This invention relates generally to improvements in surgical support devices for positioning and retaining a patient during a surgical procedure. More specifically, this invention relates to an improved surgical support device for securely and safely supporting a surgical patient in a position lying on one side. The invention is particularly designed to support and retain a patient during hip or pelvis surgery.
A variety of patient support devices are generally known in the art for use in supporting a surgery patient under general anesthesia on an operating table in a predetermined and substantially fixed position in order to facilitate certain surgical procedures. In this regard, such patient support devices are especially useful to support a surgery patient in a position lying on one side, commonly referred to as a lateral decubitis position, to facilitate surgical procedures such as hip and/or pelvic surgery. The support devices are typically mounted by clamps or the like onto side edges of the operating table, and provide upstanding support plates for engaging the patient anteriorly and posteriorly in the pelvic region and the chest region. Secure patient retention can be extremely important in the course of some surgical procedures such as hip arthroplasty wherein it is desirable to retain the patient in a fixed reference position relative to the operating table in order to achieve optimum fit and function of a hip prosthesis. Unfortunately, conventional patient support devices in the form of paddle-shaped and generally rectangular upstanding plates tend to engage soft tissues in the anterior pelvic region, resulting frequently in inadequate patient support and retention. Moreover, attempts to support the patient by contacting soft tissue, especially in the anterior pelvic region, have sometimes resulted in circulatory restrictions and/or other complications attributable to the pressure applied to vital organs.
There exists, therefore, a significant need for improvements in patient support devices for securely and safely engaging the anterior pelvic region of a surgery patient lying in a lateral decubitis position. The present invention fulfills this need and provides other related advantages.